'Cheats robbed my son of place'

SUSAN Davis blames parents who lie about their addresses for the failure of her honest efforts to get her 14-year-old son into a popular south Manchester school. The 53-year-old tried in vain for nearly two years to secure a place at Parrs Wood High School for Adam.

"We tried for ages to get him into Parrs Wood . . . but he kept moving down the list because people were moving into the area.

"I knew that some of these people were lying about their addresses, giving relatives' and friends' ones."

Adam had a spell at home, then at a special unit before moving to Oakwood High in Chorlton.

"He never did settle down after all that disruption," said Susan."Looking back, I should have lied like so many others and just got him in."

A Manchester Education Department spokesperson said: "We take the issue of giving false details very seriously, which is why we carry out the checks we do when applications for school places are made."